Oct 24, 2009

Guidance on prayers answered based on our Goals

By -- SGI Vice President Kawai

Mr. Kawai's guidance in faith, conveyed by Mr. Noro, based on President Ikeda's guidance

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We
practice this faith not for mere exertion, that is, not for the sake of
practice, but for change and progress and as quickly as possible.Members
may say, I'm doing many SGI activities, but so what? The real question is how
much have I changed my life, my environment, and my livelihood? How much
benefit have I received? There are many members who are doing lots of daimoku,
but there is no change in their lives. Something is wrong. Buddhism is not the
Law of Cause and Effect in Action. It is the Law of cause and effect in ichinen
(determined prayer). For example, faith is not "feeling refreshed"
after prayers and activities. Faith exists for us to change our lives. When we
wish to travel somewhere, first we decide on the destination, then we plan on
the action (route/ mode of transport) and then we travel and reach that
destination. Faith is the same.In
faith, we must first have clear targets, prayer nd action .It is
important to pray strongly and then take action and we will see the results
without fail. It is important to determine to change. That is to pray "I
want to change", and then take necessary action. It is absolutely no use
to ask the Gohonzon, "What should I do?" There will be no answer. YOU
must decide what you want to accomplish, not the Gohonzon. Once we decide /
determine on some goal, there may seem no solution. But that is precisely why
we pray. If it were possible, we would not need the Gohonzon. If there is a way
out, then there really is no need to chant. But we pray to change the
impossible to possible. Do not engage in "what shall I do..."
daimoku, that is, while chanting to think of strategies / look for options in
your mind. There is absolutely no need to think of methodology, because there
is no way out! We should simply pray like this "I want to accomplish this.
I will accomplish this."

If,
while chanting, we think that our desires are unattainable / impossible, then
that is the prayer that will be reflected onto the universe. And that is
exactly the answer we will get back from the gohonzon... impossible/no
solution. We
must pray with 100% confidence in the Gohonzon. I believe in the Gohonzon, my
prayer will definitely be answered, just as the Gosho states "no prayer to
the Gohonzon will go unanswered". This is the Buddhist formula, which is
100% correct. It is our doubts that get in the way. While chanting, we
always try to find ways out of our problem. Therefore, our ichinen is not
directed towards the Gohonzon, but directed elsewhere. Thus it follows, that
there is no real joy in daimoku and activities. We just keep doing what we were
told to do.

There
was a young lady (student division) who wanted to go to USA from Japan to
study. It was impossible, as she had no money etc. So she prayed, not chanted,
but deeply prayed "I want to go to USA to study - I will go" One year
later, she reported positive results. There had seemed no solution, but a
"bridge" was formed through her sincere daimoku. This is the Mystic
Law. It is beyond our understanding, which is why it is called Mystic. So there
is no need to think, just trust and pray...

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There
was a WD who came for guidance. Her husband had terminal cancer and doctors
said he would not live longer than 3 months. Her question was "can he be
cured?" The answer was "I don't know". The leader went on to say
that President Toda's guidance was that when we determine that the only one
thing we can trust is the gohonzon, then the body begins to recover from sickness.

This
means to cure ones own illness by oneself, through faith. The human body is
capable of producing 700 types of medicines. But when our life force is weak,
then nothing is produced. When our life philosophy is polluted by slander, and
impurities then our life cannot produce its healing power. Buddhism is great.
Our life is great! It is supreme. It is Divine. It is the life of the Buddha.
So through faith we can always manifest this supreme state of the Buddha, this
power of the Gohonzon.

People
call Buddhism great, but actually it teaches us that our own lives are great.
With determination, great life force and wisdom can be manifested from our
lives and bodies to overcome sickness which is one's negative karma -the source
of which is slander. So the real question is not whether the illness is
curable, rather, the question is whether i can determine it is curable. The
woman told her husband about this guidance and together both corrected their
ichinen and prayed and he was cured.

A
Woman's Division leader in Japan could not walk due to pain in her legs caused
by rheumatism. She was asked "do you think that your disease can be
cured?" She replied "No!" "So then that is your desire.
Your state of mind and that is why the answer from the Gohonzon is - - no
cure!" replied the senior leader. The leader continued by saying that if
the medical doctor has given up, if he says there is no cure for your
condition, then that is the time to summon up your determination to change the
impossible to possible. The very next day, the woman called the leader to
report that when she determined, the pain disappeared from her legs and 2 weeks
later she was completely cured. Her suffering had been caused by her thinking
that it was impossible to be cured, that she would have to live with this life
condition. But the moment she determined (ichinen) to overcome through faith
in the gohonzon, the power of the mystic law was manifested through her life.

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There
are 3 kinds of directions to drive our practice:

Forward
"Gear". Forward Gear practice consists of: having a
clear and specified target and determination to accomplish it through prayer
and action, for example: I want a white cat. She must be of Persian species, 3
yrs old, with blue eyes, female. And I want her in 2 weeks. I will get it. In
other words, doing a lot of activities and daimoku with no targets and clear
goals is no use, as it will not produce any changes in your life.

Neutral
"Gear" Neutral Gear Practice is chanting out of duty,
with no joy. A habitual practice. E.g.: I am a leader, I have responsibilities,
so I'm doing activities. But there is no effect. Its like the car analogy...
the engine is full and ready to go... but nothing happens.

Reverse
"Gear" Reverse Gear Practice is when the more
activities and daimoku one is doing, one is still going backwards, rather than
forward in one's life. In other words, one may be making a lot of seemingly
good causes, but one is also complaining. There is slander and grudges against
others. Or one might be Complaining about ones' own situation on not seeing
immediate results. This is dangerous practice.

Just
like in automatic transmission car, there is very little difference between
Forward and Reverse Gears, from outward appearance it is difficult to tell
where one's ichinen is. But one's life will ultimately clearly manifest it.

SlanderEven
if you commit slander without realizing it, it is still slander. One should
never criticize leaders. Right or wrong, one should not complain at all.
Instead, one can chant for them to grow and one will benefit from that too.
Similarly, never do "onshitsu" in your family. That is do not
complain, criticize or carry a negative feeling towards husband /wife, children
or parents. This is your karma. You chose your spouse/partner children. Chant
for their growth. Further, do not depend / rely on others. Do not complain that
they don't do this or that. Criticism will bring no benefit. But it will
certainly bring negative effects.

In
conclusionWe
must eradicate the following types of prayer:

Ø Out of
habit or ritual (that is without any target or determination)ØOut of delusion (that is while chanting, trying
to find solutions to your problems)ØOut of disbelief (that is thinking that this is
impossible and will not happen / change)

Instead,
pray with your entire heart, your entire being that I am going to build a
bridge towards my happiness and those of others by myself, by using the Supreme
wisdom of Nam Myoho Renge Kyo. One needs to have the experience of benefits /
breakthroughs, so as to encourage others. "I have so many benefits through
this practice... what about you?" Especially, senior members must receive
many benefits. Buddhism is reason. Otherwise what is the use of practicing this
faith? If they don't witness changes/ benefits then their faith has become
habitual.

We
need to experience benefits through faith and prayer to show power of Gohonzon
and encourage others. President Toda and President Ikeda said there are 10
reasons why no change or benefits occur in senior leaders' lives, even though
they have been practicing for a long time.

ØUnclear determination

ØNo concrete targets in faith

ØDoing regular Gongyo but no concrete prayer

ØPassive Gongyo and activities from a sense of obligation

ØA complaining and begrudging attitude about faith

ØSeeking spirit for senior leaders/ guidance has become weaker

ØNot working hard in office or home

ØDepressed because of various sufferings in life

ØWeak of sense of mission for Kosen Rufu

ØSense of responsibility as leader is weaker

Even
if one of the above is missing, then faith has become habitual and there is no
benefit. We must have dreams, which lead to hope and finally become reality
when we chant! Therefore, we must have big dreams!

ExperienceThe
President of a Fisheries Co was very concerned about the drop in catch of fish
as it was affecting his sales, so he went for guidance. The leader asked him "You
say that you can't get lots of salmon fish. Does this mean that there is no
salmon or are you unable to catch them?" "I can't get any," he
replied. "Why can't you call them to your net? Did you pray like
that?" The leader encouraged. "No I didn't"."There is no
natural boundary in the ocean. So why don't you pray like that?" The
leader encouraged. So he did. His catch went up from 20 fish to 300 in one day.
His company went from deficit to surplus. This is no miracle. This is the Law.
This is reason.

What is
amazing is when you don't get benefits even though you do chant.

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My SGI Lotus Flower Blog: Spreading the wonders and joy of Nichiren Buddhism through articles, experiences, art, music, film, comedy and pop culture. For beginners to long time members, I hope this blog serves you well. Like the Lotus Flower we can bloom right where we are.

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"Suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what there is to enjoy. Regard both suffering and joy as facts of life, and continue chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo. no matter what happens. How could this be anything other than the boundless joy of the Law? Strengthen your power of faith more than ever."

True happiness means forging a strong spirit that is undefeated, no matter how trying our circumstances.

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